Bangladesh’s garment factory workers come out from a building during their lunch time in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, June 15, 2013. (AP Photo/A.M. Ahad)

Garment workers in Bangladesh will receive a 77 percent pay increase following a labor strike against the country’s industry, a small step toward victory among a group of workers that has long battled an industry responsible for dangerous working conditions.

Bangladesh garment workers were hoisted into the spotlight earlier this year when the roof of a factory building collapsed, killing more than 1,100. Experts claimed the accident would not have occurred if safety measures had been met.

Despite the pay increase for factory workers, who are largely women, the agreement fell short of the workers’ demands. The negotiated salary will provide workers, on average, with 5,300 taka per month, which equates to roughly $68 per month. Initially, workers requested $3,000 taka a month, or $100 per month.

As garment workers protested the lower-negotiated deal, police fired tear gas and bullets into the crowd as workers occupied the street. Yet the negotiated salary, accepted by union leaders, did prompt some workers to return to the factories.

The pay raise is substantial in relation to what workers were earning. However, critics claim it’s anything but generous. Bangladesh is the second highest producing garment nation in the world, home to an industry worth $20 billion a year.

“Indeed, despite this significant raise, the garment workers will still be among the lowest compensated in the world,” Kevin Matthews of Care2 wrote. “Sadly, most of the Bangladeshi workers would be ecstatic to receive the money paid to sweatshop employees in other parts of the globe.”

The Daily Globe reports that workers were disappointed with negotiations over wages. Prior to the increase, thousands went on strike, shutting down more than 100 factories and flooding the streets with demands of higher wages and safer conditions.

The protests and wage hikes come as a new report was released, claiming that another factory disaster like the one seen earlier this year could happen again. The report was launched by the English all parliamentary group in Bangladesh, according to the Globe.

“Consequently, there is high chance of a repeat of the tragic events of Rana Plaza and Tazreen Fashion’s fire. These risks compromise the long-term investments of brands and limit their ability to improve working conditions,” the report states.

Another report found that one in six factories that contract with Wal-mart failed to meet safety standards. According to the report, the factories had structural deficiencies and failed to meet fire codes.

Now, British MPs are calling for not only stricter regulations, but also regular audits to ensure factories stick to standards. If they fail to, MPs claim factory worker representatives should be informed.

Stories published in our Daily Digests section are chosen based on the interest of our readers. They are
republished from a number of sources, and are not produced by MintPress News. The views expressed in
these
articles are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect MintPress News editorial policy.

The recent devastating car bombing in Mogadishu has been blamed by Somali officials on the terrorist group al-Shabab. But the violence (and famine) that have beset Somalia have deeper roots — decades of imperialism and intervention, and use of Somalia as a staging grounds for the “war on terror.”

Buried among statistics on gun profits and lobbying efforts is the terrifying reality of just how unique America’s gun obsession and associated violence are. And the equally terrifying plan by the NRA to “normalize” gun possession in nearly every nook and cranny of American life.

U.S. campaigns for regime change characteristically focus on the “madness” of the “dictators” to be toppled. In the case of North Korea, the narrative is spiced by the country’s developing nuclear capabilities — which North Korea views as its main line of defense against . . . regime change.

Aung Su Kyi, the leader of Myanmar, has been accused of “legitimizing genocide” against the country’s Rohingya Muslims, despite being a Nobel Prize laureate. Her country’s military has massacred thousands of Rohingya, leading some to call for Kyi’s Nobel Prize to be revoked.